Study of the Dynamics and Cost Analysis of the Biogenerator

118 Pages·2017·1.47 MB·English

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Tariq Abou Jarboua, The University of Western Ontario
Supervisor: Dr. Dimitre Karamanev, The University of Western Ontario
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Engineering
Science degree in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
© Tariq Abou Jarboua 2017
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Abstract
The BioGenerator is a promising energy storage solution that can be integrated with
renewable power sources (i.e. wind and solar) to compensate the intermittent shortage of the
renewable power sources and deliver a comprehensive power package. A trickling-bed
bioreactor was considered to be used in the BioGenerator as an alternative to the initially
studied ”air-lift” type bioreactor. Trickling-bed bioreactor is well known for its low power
consumption for oxygen transfer. Dynamic study was conducted on lab scale trickling-bed
bioreactor to investigate the effect of the ferrous iron feed interruption on the iron
biooxidation rate. The study showed that the iron biooxidation rate was temporary reduced
by around 6% when the stoppage period was between 16 and 72 hours.
Also, a detailed cost analysis study was conducted to for 1 MW BioGenerator showing that
its cost is very competitive option of energy storage, and can be used as an economical
alternative to rechargeable batteries usually used with renewable power generation sources.
The annualized capital cost of the BioGenerator is $209,000/year, the capital cost per kW is
$3,000/kW, and the cost of electricity due to the BioGenerator is 6.2 cents per kWh.

Keywords
BioGenerator, trickling-bed bioreactor, power storage of renewable energy, cost analysis of
BioGenerator.
Co-Authorship Statement
Tariq Abou Jarboua was the principal author. The supervisor Dr. Dimitre Karamanev made
revisions and recommendations. Based on some results in this Thesis, two papers were
prepared for submission to peer reviewed journals. The contribution of each author is shown
below:
1. Study of the dynamics of ferrous iron biooxidation by Leptospirillum ferriphilum in a
trickling bed bioreactor used for energy storage.
Submitted to: Biochemical Engineering Journal.
Authors: Tariq Abou Jarboua, Boris Nikolov and Dimitre Karamanev
Experimental work and data analysis were performed by Tariq Abou Jarboua. The bioreactor
design and start-up was performed by Boris Nikolov. Dr. Dimitre Karamanev provided
consultation regarding experimental work and data analysis. The manuscript was written and
revised by Tariq Abou Jarboua and reviewed by Dimitre Karamanev.

2. Economic analysis of a 1 megawatt microbial electrochemical cell, the BioGenerator.
Submitted to: Applied Energy Journal
Authors: Tariq Abou Jarboua, Dimitre Karamanev
Scale-up design, material and equipment selection, and price estimation were performed by
Tariq Abou Jarboua. Dr. Dimitre Karamanev provided price estimation of the
electrochemical unit. The manuscript was written and revised by Tariq Abou Jarboua, and
reviewed by Dimitre Karamanev.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to take the chance and express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr.
Dimitre Karamanev for providing me the opportunity to work on this interesting project, and
for his thorough guidance throughout the whole project.
Also, I would like to extend my appreciation to my parents, siblings and family for their great
thrust and support, with very deep appreciation to my father for his continuous
encouragement. Last but not least, I am grateful to my wife Eman, for her endless
accommodation of proper climate for success.

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Table of Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i
Co-Authorship Statement.................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iii
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv
List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii
List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii
Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1
1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Renewable Energy .................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Energy Storage Technologies ................................................................................. 6
1.3 References ............................................................................................................. 14
Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... 15
2 Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 15
2.1 Fuel Cells Technology .......................................................................................... 15
2.2 Fuel Cell Types ..................................................................................................... 20
2.2.1 Conventional Fuel Cells ............................................................................ 20
2.2.2 Biological Fuel Cells................................................................................. 31
2.3 BioGenerator ......................................................................................................... 34
2.4 BioGenerator Challenges ...................................................................................... 38
2.5 References ............................................................................................................. 41
Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 43
3 Study of the Dynamics of Ferrous Iron Biooxidation by Leptospirillum ferriphilum in
a Trickling Bed Bioreactor Used for Energy Storage .................................................. 43
3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 43
3.2 Materials and Methods .......................................................................................... 45
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3.2.1 Description of Experimental Setup ........................................................... 45
3.2.2 Microbial Culture and Liquid Medium ..................................................... 47
3.2.3 Biofilm Support Particles .......................................................................... 48
3.2.4 Analytical Procedure ................................................................................. 48
3.3 Results and Discussion ......................................................................................... 48
3.4 Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 60
3.5 References ............................................................................................................. 61
Chapter 4 ........................................................................................................................... 62
4 Cost Analysis of a 1 Megawatt Bio-Electrochemical Technology, The BioGenerator 62
4.1 Nomenclature ........................................................................................................ 62
Greek Letters ................................................................................................................ 64
Subscripts ..................................................................................................................... 64
Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... 64
4.2 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 65
4.2.1 BioGenerator ............................................................................................. 66
4.3 Purpose of This Study ........................................................................................... 68
4.4 BioGenerator Calculations .................................................................................... 69
4.4.1 Overall Calculations.................................................................................. 69
4.4.2 Bioreactor Calculations ............................................................................. 70
4.4.3 Bioreactor Volume .................................................................................... 71
4.4.4 Oxygen Requirement ................................................................................ 71
4.4.5 Correction Factors for Oxygen Demand ................................................... 72
4.4.6 Hydrogen Requirement ............................................................................. 77
4.5 Sizing of Equipment ............................................................................................. 77
4.5.1 Sizing of the Bioreactor Tank and Other Civil Engineering and
Construction Requirements ....................................................................... 77
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4.5.2 Sizing of Circulating Pumps ..................................................................... 80
4.5.3 Sizing of Air Blowers ............................................................................... 81
4.5.4 Sizing of Liquid and Air Pipelines............................................................ 82
4.5.5 Electrical Supply ....................................................................................... 85
4.5.6 Mist Eliminator ......................................................................................... 85
4.5.7 Water Heater and Temperature Control .................................................... 86
4.5.8 Electrochemical Cell Stacks ..................................................................... 87
4.6 Cost Calculations .................................................................................................. 88
4.6.1 Civil and Construction Work .................................................................... 88
4.6.2 Circulating Pumps ..................................................................................... 91
4.6.3 Air Blowers ............................................................................................... 91
4.6.4 Air and Liquid Piping ............................................................................... 91
4.6.5 Electrical and Control ............................................................................... 93
4.6.6 Mist Eliminator ......................................................................................... 93
4.6.7 Water Heater and Temperature Controller ............................................... 94
4.6.8 Electrochemical Cell Stack Units ............................................................. 94
4.6.9 Overall BioGenerator Cost Analysis ........................................................ 96
4.7 Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................................... 99
4.8 References ........................................................................................................... 100
Chapter 5 ......................................................................................................................... 103
5 Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 103
Chapter 6 ......................................................................................................................... 105
6 Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 105
Curriculum Vitae ............................................................................................................ 108
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List of Tables
Table 1. Classification of Fuel cells based on operating temperatures, used fuels and
electrolytes .............................................................................................................................. 30
Table 2. Civil scope of work for the bioreactor tank and the plant room, estimated unit prices
and the total cost of the work. ................................................................................................. 89
Table 3. Pipeline quantities, their estimated unit prices and the total price............................ 92
Table 4. Cost of all elements comprise the electrochemical stack unit. ................................. 95
Table 5. Summary of the individual and total capital cost of all BioGenerator components. 96

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List of Figures
Figure 1. Worldwide installed storage capacity for electrical energy (2010) ........................... 8
Figure 2. Power to Gas (P2G) integrated with renewable energy .......................................... 13
Figure 3. Schematic diagram of fuel cell system key components. ........................................ 16
Figure 4. Fuel Cell Electrochemistry ...................................................................................... 18
Figure 5. The configuration of fuel cell stack with multiple of single fuel cell components . 19
Figure 6. Basic structure and processes in PEM fuel cell, https://energy.gov/ ....................... 21
Figure 7. The basic structure and processes in AFC, https://energy.gov/. .............................. 23
Figure 8. The basic structure and processes in PAFC, https://energy.gov/. ........................... 25
Figure 9. The basic structure and processes in MCFC, https://energy.gov/. .......................... 27
Figure 10. The basic structure and processes of the SOFC, https://energy.gov/. ................... 28
Figure 11. The basic structure and processes of the DMFC, www.intechopen.com. ............. 29
Figure 12. Schematic representation of a typical MFC, https://biologicalfuelcell.com/ ........ 32
Figure 13. Schematic diagram of the BioGenerator ............................................................... 36
Figure 14. Typical time profile of wind power generation and smoothing to its average value.
................................................................................................................................................. 44
Figure 15. Experimental setup of the trickling bed bioreactor. .............................................. 46
Figure 16. Theoretical change of the substrate (ferrous ion) concentration in time during and
after a feed flow interruption. ................................................................................................. 51
Figure 17. Experimental S-t curves for three hours feed flow interruption. ........................... 53
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Figure 18. The change of ferrous iron concentration in time for a 6 hours feed flow
interruption. ............................................................................................................................. 54
Figure 19. Effect of the 16 hours flow interruption on ferrous iron concentration. ............... 55
Figure 20. Effect of the 24 hours flow interruption on ferrous iron concentration. ............... 56
Figure 21. Effect of the 72 hours flow interruption on substrate concentration. .................... 57
Figure 22. The relationship between the parameters th and ts, as described in Fig. 15. .......... 58
Figure 23. The relationship between the parameters Sh and ts, as described in Fig. 16. ......... 58
Figure 24. The effect of the parameter t on the reduction of the ferrous iron biooxidation
s
rate........................................................................................................................................... 59
Figure 25. Bioreactor concrete tank dimensional layout ........................................................ 79
Figure 26. Plant layout and the process flow diagram of the BioGenerator. .......................... 85
Figure 27. Schematic view of the electrochemical stack used in the BioGenerator ............... 88

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